The Small Business Administration has named 15 individuals from the worlds of business, academia, economic development and politics to a newly created council that will advise the SBA on ways to stimulate economic growth in low-income areas and better serve disadvantaged communities.
The group, the Council on Underserved Communities, will eventually have 20 members and will be chaired Catherine Hughes, the founder of Radio One and TV One whose business was kick started with an SBA loan 30 years ago.
Among the appointees to the council are: B. Doyle Mitchell, the president and chief executive of Industrial Bank in Washington, D.C.; Ron Busby, the president of the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce; Dasil Elius Velez, the executive director or minority and women business development at the Empire State Development Corp. in New York; and Marilyn Strickland, the mayor of Tacoma, Wash.
"One of the SBA's core missions is to support small businesses in traditionally underserved communities, including minorities, women, people with disabilities and in rural areas," said Marie Johns, the SBA's deputy administrator. The council "will provide valuable insight and advice into how we can ensure that small businesses in these communities throughout the country have access to the tools they need to grow, create jobs and win the future."
The group's first meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., in July.
